"Actually, Mom, Dad... you don't need to worry about me."
Having gained a new ability, David no longer planned to hide his special nature.
Although he could not reveal his Eternals mutant physiology, lest his strange appearance worry his parents, he could reveal his Energy Manipulation ability.
"What do you mean?"
Seeing that their son was about to reveal something, the couple exchanged puzzled looks.
Buzz!
A smile flashed through David's eyes as he raised his hand, a highly condensed ball of purple energy glowing without being released.
"I have some special abilities too. Protecting myself won't be a problem."
Purple light illuminated the room.
"Son, th-this... what is this?"
Staring at the light emerging from their younger son's hand, like a tiny purple sun, Jonathan and Martha cried out in shock.
Clark's eyes widened, unable to believe what he was seeing.
This was different from how he had imagined his younger brother revealing his abilities.
For a moment, the living room was silent enough to hear a pin drop.
Giving his astonished parents time to process the sudden news.
"Energy Manipulation?"
As David went upstairs to prepare for his departure, Clark followed him and asked incredulously, "You actually hid some of your abilities from me."
He told David about every ability he had. The possibility that his younger brother had concealed this out of wariness made him feel a little hurt.
"It's an ability that awakened not long ago."
In his room, David dragged a box out from beneath the bed and effortlessly lifted the hundred-pound box onto the table.
The box was about the size of a baby's cradle.
"Really?"
"Believe it or not."
"You..."
Seeing that David did not seem to be lying, Clark calmed down somewhat and was about to ask when he had gained this ability.
Click!
David opened the box.
Chunks of meteorite of various sizes, glowing with green fluorescence, lay quietly inside the wooden box. A rough glance put the number at seventy or eighty.
"Th-this is a meteorite??"
Clark stared in stunned disbelief halfway through his sentence. "How can there be so much meteorite?"
If he had not lost his abilities, he might have collapsed the instant the box was opened and passed out.
"You..."
He stared wide-eyed at his younger brother.
"Why did you collect so much meteorite?"
"For collecting."
David raised a brow. "Is that not allowed?"
Looking at his utterly unruffled younger brother, Clark was so angry he nearly fainted.
"You think I believe that?"
He could not believe that only days after he had exposed meteorite as his weakness, his younger brother had collected an entire box of it.
There was enough to build him a coffin.
In truth, this was stock David had dug up long ago. Thinking it was enough, he had not searched for more over the past few years.
Buzz!
David took out a slightly larger piece of meteorite.
Energy beams shot from his eyes, which he manipulated like lasers to cut it apart.
Under his precise control, layers of hard stone were swiftly sliced away like a hot knife through butter.
"You can shoot energy beams from your eyes?"
Clark was astonished. Watching what his younger brother was doing, he was somewhat confused. "What are you doing?"
"Carrying around a rock is too stupid."
As he spoke, he quickly finished making it.
"And raw meteorite doesn't emit strong enough radiation."
Blowing away the green snow-like stone dust, the light in David's eyes faded.
In his palm lay a ring cut from the crystal at the heart of the meteorite. Like a flawless emerald, it emitted powerful radiation, its faint fluorescence visible even in daylight.
Clark looked at the emerald-green ring, and his face turned green. He had the illusion of being poisoned and unconsciously took a step back.
Even though he no longer felt weak or in pain, the psychological shadow remained.
"David, once you successfully bring Avery back, you'll destroy it, right?"
David put the box back where it belonged.
Faced with Clark's probing, David put the Kryptonite ring on his right index finger and merely smiled without speaking.
"You'll destroy it... right?" Overwhelmed by an ominous feeling, Clark swallowed. There was not a trace of confidence left in his voice.
Clark wanted to go with his younger brother, but Jonathan and Martha would not allow it. He had lost his abilities and was better off staying home rather than becoming a burden.
After coming downstairs, David was ready to leave.
He did not need to bring any luggage. A Kryptonite ring was enough.
"Son, are you sure you can bring Avery back without getting hurt?"
At the front door, Jonathan and Martha still wore expressions of shock and surprise. Seeing David about to leave, they could not help worrying.
Their son was traveling far away to another city, and danger might be involved. How could parents possibly rest easy?
"There won't be any problems."
David let out a breath and smiled.
After telling them about his abilities, he felt much more relaxed.
"My Energy Manipulation is best suited for defense. Even Clark's attacks can't break through my defenses."
"Really?"
Jonathan and Martha looked at Clark.
"Yes."
Clark nodded stiffly.
He had not actually tested it either, but this was not the time to make his parents worry.
"David, be careful."
Worry covered Clark's face as he stepped forward and hugged David tightly.
He secretly clenched his fists. Logically, this had started because of him. David should not have been the one to handle it, and he could not help feeling guilty.
"Son..."
David hugged his parents as well, then turned and left, waving his hand.
"Gotham isn't far. I'll be back in a few days."
Jonathan held Martha in his arms. Looking at his son's departing figure, concern lingered in his eyes.
"I hope God blesses our David and brings him safely home."
Without even looking back, David knew what his parents' expressions were like, and he felt somewhat helpless.
Why were his parents worried about his safety when he hid his abilities, and still unable to stop worrying after he revealed them?
He left an afterimage where he stood and accelerated away.
Gotham was not far from Metropolis, separated only by a stretch of water.
The two cities facing one another across the sea maintained close cultural and economic exchanges.
Like Metropolis, Gotham was a prosperous, advanced modern city, filled with towering skyscrapers. It even possessed an elevated rail system that Metropolis lacked, running through the entire city like veins through a human body. Its developed transportation network carried nourishment to Gotham's heart—Wayne Tower.
But unlike Metropolis, Gotham was glamorous on the surface while concealing filth beneath it. Its persistently high crime rate was an indelible mark upon the city.
Drip!
Lead-gray clouds sealed off the sky as cold rain fell in a steady patter. Birds with soaked feathers were too weak to fly, standing atop the heads of gargoyle statues jutting from high-rise walls as they preened themselves.
A bird tilted its trembling head downward, and reflected in its eyes, a black umbrella slowly moved through the street.
Clang, clang!
"Gotham seems to have clouds that never disperse and rain that never ends."
Watching a long train rumble noisily along elevated tracks held high by concrete pillars, David, dressed in a gray trench coat, lifted one corner of his umbrella and glanced at the gloomy sky with a soft sigh.
That was his impression of Gotham.
At least during his previous visits, he had never encountered a sunny day.
"How could a place this dark and damp fail to breed mold and filth?"
In a dark alley not far away, someone pale-faced, sniffling, and shivering pulled out a roll of cash. Like a thief, he glanced around anxiously and urged another person to hurry up and produce the goods so they could complete the deal. Several more people stood in line behind him.
Pressed against the alley wall, an elderly homeless man with a beard curled his emaciated body inward. The dull gray sky was reflected in his eyes as he lay numbly on the cold ground.
Several vicious-looking young homeless men in ragged clothes huddled around a burning trash can, holding out hands covered in frayed gloves for warmth as they shivered.
When they noticed someone looking their way, they glared back viciously, like mangy stray dogs guarding their territory.
This was Gotham's busiest downtown district.
David shook his head, climbed the steps, put away his umbrella, and entered Gotham National Bank, whose historic exterior resembled an ancient Castle.
"Without the Son of Krypton's Super Vision and Super Hearing, finding one person in a city of tens of millions won't be easy."
First, he needed some money.
The outside looked as if it had been built from ancient bricks and steeped in history, but the bank's interior was spacious and clean, with thick marble columns, soft brown sofas, and bright windows.
The decor was classically elegant without lacking a modern human touch.
"Even old things can be renewed."
The well-dressed lobby manager was speaking eloquently to several customers holding complimentary coffee.
"Do you remember that old coffee machine? It could never filter out the grounds, leaving bits stuck in customers' teeth. Who knew how many complaints we received?"
"Look at Gotham National Bank now. The environment is fresh, the equipment modern, and our high-tech security system ensures that we provide everyone with better service and safer protection for your wealth."
Walking across the polished marble floor, David ignored the lobby manager, who had spread his arms and was speaking proudly. He slowly approached the counter, preparing to conduct some business.
"I believe—who wouldn't prefer Gotham National Bank as it is now?"
"Don't speak so absolutely, sir!"
An abrupt, loud voice cut in. A group of robbers dressed in suits, carrying submachine guns and black bags, and wearing red hoods stormed inside. Their leader pointed his gun at the manager and said mockingly.
"I prefer banks from sixty years ago. Their vault doors definitely weren't as thick as today's—the kind you couldn't blast open even with a tank!"
"Ahhh... Bang!"
Piercing screams instantly erupted through the bank. Before the terrified crowd could scatter like startled birds, a gunshot blew apart the head of the frozen-faced bank manager.
"Sticking to the old ways isn't bad for people."
As the corpse fell, the man smiled elegantly and pressed an index finger to his lips. His softly spoken words swept through the hall like a winter wind, making everyone tremble.
"For example, all of you should get down on the floor and stay quiet as mice in church rafters. Otherwise, we'll use you to decorate the walls!"
Robbing a national bank in broad daylight—these criminals were utterly audacious.
He had been in Gotham for less than an hour, and he was already getting another taste of Gotham's specialty.
David swept his gaze around.
"Was this city so eager to remind me what it was like?"
Each robber wore a red hood, a black suit, and even a red rose pinned to his chest. They looked so poised and elegant that they did not seem to be robbing a bank, but attending a banquet.
What style. Then again, Gotham was not short on stylish criminals.
"Oh, there's still one kid over here who hasn't obeyed. Can't you understand what we said?"
Everyone in the hall was trembling on the floor, except for one person who remained standing. His expression was calm, even slightly curious as he looked around, as if he had not noticed this was a Bank Heist where people could die at any moment. He was exceptionally conspicuous.
Seeing David, the robber leader smiled and waved a hand, as though dismissing a waiter at a banquet to bring him a glass of champagne.
"Red Hood Five, give this disobedient gentleman a lesson he'll remember for the rest of his life."
One of the minor robbers behind him stepped out, rushed fiercely up to David, and smoothly aimed his gun at David's head. His low, vicious voice was terrifying.
"Kneel. I said kneel!"
As he spoke, he kicked hard at the back of David's knee, but it was like kicking a steel pillar. David did not move an inch!
Pain shot through his foot. Beneath his hood, Red Hood Five frowned, surprise flashing through his eyes.
"I heard Gotham's people have it hard."
Raising a brow, David gave the unremarkable Red Hood Five before him a light smile.
"But I never expected the owner of Wayne Enterprises, Bruce Wayne, to have fallen so low that he had to rob banks?"
The update was a little late. The two chapters together have an extra 1,800 words. Please keep reading. (ω)
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